Little Goddess of Storms [INTRO/OPEN]

On a rainy day like this, it certainly would be strange to see a little girl wandering about. But for Mai Stormschild, it was nothing. She loved the rain. It reminded her of her Papa, who had gone missing. Everywhere she asked, the people only said one thing: "Go check with Sabertooth. They could help."

Papa had told of Sabertooth. It was one of the largest guilds in the entirety of the world. Mai was hesitant. Papa was the only other wizard Mai ever met. In fact, these past few days were the first days she had even entered civilization. But Papa taught her well. Papa gave her clothes, as well as tutoring in what he called "lady's etiquette." Mai always hated her etiquette lessons, but she enjoyed the playtime with her Papa. His bright smile, his fun attitude, it was home to Mai.

A lightning bolt crashed in the distance. Her eyes and ears perked up, searching for the source, before a quick wave of disappointment rolled over her. She was hungry, and she never much cared for Papa's hunting. Berries were scarce as well, and Mai was getting hungry. Her clothes were ruffled and messy, and she was itchy from bug bites, but she no longer cared. The rain washed the bugs away. The thunder scared away predators. Even the rain falling on her skin made her feel at home, like Papa was still watching.

She sighed and looked up. There it was. Sabertooth's hall. She would have liked if it were in town, but nonetheless she smiled, accepting that she had found it. She was tired of walking in the woods. Normally, for long journeys, Papa would carry her, but now she only had her own two feet to walk on, and the only remnant of Papa was her scale necklace. Slowly she walked into the guild hall, timidly peeking through the doors.

"I-is this S-Sabertooth?" she asked quietly.

Mai was startled by the sudden appearance of a white-haired girl behind her. The storm must have masked her scent, but now that the two were side-by-side, the scent was overwhelming, and yet somewhat familiar. As much as she enjoyed the feel of the rain on her skin, the warm towel somehow felt even better.


"A-are you...like me?" she quietly asked. "I'm looking for my Papa. I...I don't know where he is."

She felt a tear begin to well up in her eye. Since as long as she could remember, Papa had cared for Mai, and all of a sudden, he had vanished just a few days ago.

"A-and Papa said that if I'm ever alone, I should look to join a guild. He taught me really good magic!"

The more she talked about Papa, the emptier inside she felt. He was so kind and caring, and then he all of a sudden disappeared without saying a single thing. She instinctively took hold of her necklace, running her hand along it. The last remnant of Papa.

Mai stared at the girl for a moment. Papa had always warned against humans, saying they were violent by nature and untrustworthy, but this girl that had approached her as she entered the hall seemed nice enough.

"My name?" she responded when given the chance. "Papa always called my Mai Stormschild."

The girl - Kenna - 's hands were soft. She was unlike all the humans Papa had ever talked about or shown to Mai. Unlike the rough, ragged people that Papa talked about and seen, Kenna had a warm air about her. It made Mai feel almost at home, like Papa was watching over her.

Of course, now Kenna had offered new clothes and food before going to look for Papa. In truth, Mai had hoped that lightning would strike close by to her. While the rainfall and the wind provided enough energy to keep going, despite her weakness and fear from Papa's disappearance. A bolt of lightning could rejuvenate Mai in an instant. The first few times Papa tried getting Mai to eat lightning, it was scary. The loud thunder and bright flash drove her away, but eventually it became even sweeter than the sweetest of sweets.

Thinking about it, coupled with a sideways glance outside made Mai's stomach grumble. And, although she had felt fine before, now that Kenna had mentioned it, her clothing felt damp. When Papa was around, she would never have to worry about the dampness on her, as he would simply summon a strike of lightning to dry her up and feed her.

Mai nodded, squeezing Kenna's hand tightly. A lightbulb lit up in her mind. If Kenna was going to help look for Papa, she had best know what Papa looked like, Mai thought. "Papa said his name was Raijin. He's big and fat and purple with crazy white hair!"

Just talking about Papa made Mai smile and laugh. Papa always enjoyed playing with Mai, letting her rest on his tummy or give her piggyback rides or play with his hair. Mai had always felt cautious around people, but something about Kenna, perhaps her somewhat familiar smell, or her parental attitude or her kind face, made Mai feel at home, made her feel if only for a moment that Papa was there beside her. Even if she couldn't find Papa, perhaps she could find a home yet.

Ryo walked towards the entrance of the ‘guild hall’ this guild hall served as a front for the rest of the city. It served its purpose well, ever since the attack, and he was happy that his guild was now forever beyond the reach of those who sought to do it harm. Now they could only kill the people that were his family, and only a few at a time. They could never threaten the guild hall on such a massive scale again. Though, there was still a very clear and present threat from the Elders and their ilk that sought to attack the World Tree.

As he walked into the hall however he was surprised to see Kenna, and a new girl there. The girl looked very young, but he was happy to see her. She also looked cold, wet, and a bit worse for wear. As he walked in his nose began to tell him something interesting. This girl was a slayer of some sort. She smelled like a lightning storm, and like someone who’s seen a lot of things that maybe she shouldn’t have. He slowly removed his hat letting it dangle in his hand. She smelled a lot like his former apprentice, the lightning dragon slayer, though the scent was definitely different, in some manner.

Walking in he chose his movements carefully undoing his coat and letting them see the deep purple button up shirt he was wearing, with the bright toxic green vest over it. His pants were simple black, and with the Red duster, and his black and red hat he struck a colorful figure. His pants were held up by two belts one held many different deck boxes of leather, and other material while the other belt held the pistol he had named “Ace of Spades”. Reaching into one of the deck boxes he pulled out a bunch of the elemental cards that were part of his magic. Scanning over them he found one that had a bolt of lightning striking the ground. He found another one that had blood dripping from a fang. Pulling these two aside he stuffed the rest back into the deck box.

He looked to Kenna with a smile “And who is this lovely little thing?” he asked as he knelt down to her smiling widely despite his fangs. Holding up the card of blood he sent his magic into it and then when it began to drip the crimson liquid, he put it to his mouth sucking on it. Holding out the other one he sent his magic into it and it began to spark and crackle with lightning “Would you like some? You look hungry.” He said in a warm inviting tone “You’re very far from home, aren’t you?” he asked though he already knew the answer, and if she took the snack, he offered her then he would have his second guest confirmed. He was betting his nose hadn’t led him wrong, and being that he was a vampire now he had far superior senses.

Looking up to Kenna he asked “Does she have family here? Were you taking her to the hall to get her cleaned up and warm?” he didn’t really have to ask. Kenna was shaping up to be a fine guild master and he was happy to have her working alongside him.

Mai cowered away for a moment as the second wizard came forwards. His appearance was perfectly in-line with what Papa had warned concerning the untrustworthy: the weapon at his hip, the smile, the fangs...Mai was certainly unsettled by the man. That concern only heightened when the man began to drip blood into his mouth from one of the cards, despite his offering of lightning from the second card. She quietly denied the gift at first, though the rumblings of her stomach told her otherwise. She warily approached the man, cautiously taking the gift. She had eaten poorly over the past few days during her search for Sabertooth. Sure, rain could certainly work as a suitable enough snack, and the scarce berry or two helped, but nothing was as appetizing as the purity of lightning.

As the man had suggested, she took the lightning from the card, eating it up. Even when eating well, lightning was a welcome treat, but it only tasted so much better with her hunger. She still was certainly cautious of the man, though, much akin to the woman that had introduced her to the guild, he seemed fine enough to not be afraid of. "I...don't have a home," she quietly said to the man. "Papa...wherever Papa was was home. He's..." She sniffled quietly, not wishing to interrupt the two adults.

She still was unaccustomed to speaking to people that weren't Papa, and these two were still strangers. Papa warned against strangers, but now he was gone and she had nowhere else to go. She simply looked up at the two adults fretting over her, hoping they were kind and unlike the ones that Papa had so frequently warned about.

Ryo looked the girl over and when she took the lightning from the card and ate it he smiled warmly at her. He knew he was right. She was a slayer of some description and this meant that she had a great value to the guild. He knew that he could bring her in.

When Kenna gave him the answers, he expected he turned his attention back to Mai. Pulling his gloves off of his hands he held his right hand out towards the little girl with a warm smile on his face “Well, I can’t promise that where you are will be your home. However, I can promise you that the guild known as Sabertooth, will happily give you shelter, food, and a safe place to rest. My name is Ryo, and this is Kenna, we are the leaders of Sabertooth. I consider all the members of Sabertooth to be part of my family. I am happy to welcome new members into my family.” He said leaving his hand out to her.

If she didn’t take it, he would gesture to the center of the foyer “I can take you to our real guildhall where you shall be safe.”

If she did take his hand he would smile and lead her towards the center of the foyer looking to Kenna with a wink. Then back to Mai “Let’s go and get you cleaned up, dried off, and fed some more. Your papa wouldn’t thank me for letting you stay in a state like this.” He said cheerfully as he summoned up the portal and stepped through with his charge. Emerging upon a limb that extended from the mighty world tree and would lead into the common areas for the guild. His eyes wary searching for the guild pet known as Ratatoskr to make an appearance which he would likely have to step in to protect the little storm child.

The man had offered his hand as a portal opened, which he seemed all to eager to enter. A family, he had said. It was almost a foreign concept to the child, having a family. Papa was the only interaction she had ever had, and he had explicitly told her not to trust others. Yet, this was the only place that she could go. Everything else was gone. Her home, her Papa, everything.

His hand remained extended, Mai still clinging onto the woman. She looked up at her, switching her gazes between both Kenna and Ryo. She reluctantly took the Ryo's hand, realizing she had little other choice as for what she could do. While Mai quickly warmed to Kenna and her motherly attitude, Ryo was more difficult to warm to. Even though he had offered her a bolt of lightning, his blood-drinking trick was...unnerving, to say the least. Nonetheless, he was friendly enough.

"O-okay..." she mumbled quietly, her head still facing downwards. "I...Papa said that if I'm all alone, I should find help..." She smiled, resolving herself to remember Papa's words. He always told her to stay smiling, even in the toughest times. "I hope that you can help me out, and I hope that I can have a good home here."

Ryo smiled as they arrived in the halls of Yggdrasil and he led her through to the guild members chambers. Each guild member had a bathroom for themselves as well. He found a room with a blank door and opened it. The room was simple, but it looked comfortable. Ryo moved to the middle of the room and knelt down to Mai’s level looking her over slowly. She was pretty, dirty, but she would come out clean after a good bath.

He then pulled out a card that had the emblem of Sabertooth on it. Using his magic, he folded it until it became the shape of a stamp. Holding this stamp loosely in his right hand he smiled to Mai “Well, I would be happy to welcome you. My name is Ryo Knetegawa, I am one of the Guild masters of Sabertooth. I would happily welcome you into my family. There is something you should know about the guild. We are the shield that defends the mortal world from the threats known as the Elders. We are also, the blade that strikes down those who would seek to destroy the world, and our home. We are the defenders of the town Ace of Spades, and we are as close as any family. If you would be one of us you must take up these causes as well. If you would be one of us simply tell me where you want the guild tattoo placed, and it shall be done.”

He watched her waiting to see how she would react and hoped that she would join them. He didn’t want to let some poor little thing go out on her own. Not in this state, nor did he think that her father would appreciate it, and if her father was a god, diety, spirit, or anyone of power he didn’t want to create another enemy for them to slay.

Mai looked at the leader of Sabertooth, thinking about his words. The Shield that Defends the Mortal World? The Blade that Strikes Down Those that try to Destroy the World? The Elders? A thought crossed Mai's mind. All of these rules that Ryo had set, all of these tasks that Sabertooth was set out to do, all of it was admittedly confusing to Mai. She had nowhere to go, and yet she didn't know whether or not she was capable of following everything and being any use to the guild.

She thought long and hard about it, her thoughts raising her frustration to a nearly excessive degree. Finally, her face erupted in a pout. "I don't really know what all this means, but if those 'Elders' people did something to Papa, then I'll do whatever I can to stop them!" she shouted. She turned around, showing her back to the strange man that she had no choice but to trust. "I don't even know much about this 'tattoo' thing either, but..." She motioned towards her left shoulder. "Please don't make it hurt!"

Ryo watched closely as Mai seemed to think about his words, and then she finally grew tired of it. She said that if the Elders had hurt her papa then she would do whatever she could to stop them. Presently, Ryo recalled that she was just a little girl, and he really didn’t have much experience dealing with children. He pat her head gently in sympathy nodding his head once “Well, I do suppose that it was a bit much. However, just note that if your father has positive leanings towards humans, and those who protect them, then the Elders likely view him as an enemy.”

As she turned around and showed her back to him and the left shoulder where she wanted her tattoo, he nodded his head and gently placed it against her skin. A crackle of lightning passed over her skin that wouldn’t hurt her at all, but would likely feel very familiar and perhaps comforting. When he pulled the stamp away, she had a tattoo in the shape of a Sabertooth’s head. Standing up he gestured to the bathroom she had with her room “There is a bath in there. The water is usually hot, as Yggdrassil is very lively and life is warm. Enjoy yourself also worry not. Here in Sabertooth we give everyone tasks that we think they can handle. There are plenty of others around the guild hall, and you can come and go at your leisure. Fear not little one, and welcome home.” He said tipping his hat and making his way to the door.